Pascal Themanlys

Louis Themanlys' son Pascal came to Israel in 1953 and founded the Argaman circle in Jerusalem. He also in France created a Cosmic group (actually more Kabbalistic) in Paris and Lyon. There are two other groups that link with Pascal.

Pascal actually met Théon during the latter's last visit abroad. He said:

"I saw him during one of his sojourns in Paris in 1920. Subsequently he returned to Tlemcen and lived there in company with his devoted secretary, Miss Teresa, up to 1926."

Pascal at the time must have been only a young boy. Théon was well into his seventies

Currently the new-age mood is sweeping Israel: not only the secular jews but also the traditional religious jews (e.g. Chassidim doing Tai-Chi, Kippa-wearing homeopaths and other healers, etc). Even so there is a great antagonism in traditional circles to any mention of Christian or Hermetic Kabbalah. So for example, on their Geocities website, the Argaman authors give Theon a very traditional jewish name: Eliezer Mordechai Theon Ben-Rivka, and speak of him as a traditional Chassid, who died in Algiers just when he was about to move and settle in Jerusalem. Pascal's father Louis is called David Moshe Themanelys. And the books they publish in Hebrew are given names that are have a very traditional Rabbinic sound.

The manuscript that Théons left behind him in Tlemenc was recovered by Pascal. There are more than 10,000 pages, some edited and some not. Almost all of the material is in French. Pascal wrote a short book in English and French giving a summary of Théon's teachings. For an extract of Pascal's writing, see introduction to Visions of the Eternal Present, which was published about nine years before his death.

Pascal, who only died very recently (in August 2000) was worried about the material falling into the wrong hands. He was afraid that people might change it or distort the meaning by translating the text while not understanding fully the teachings of the Théons. It is the old argument between those who want things kept secret and those who want to divulge. I think the time has come for this information to divulged. For those organisations that stay secretive the knowledge will be lost with them, and Théon's material is too precious to deserve such a fate. For that reason I am putting up those few extracts of it I have, together with observations and comments.

note: for example with Tai-Chi, the guy who owns the biggest Tai-Chi chain of schools is Israel, happens to be a Baal-Teshuva (the term means a secular jew going religious - perhaps equivalent to the Christian "born again"). So a couple of years ago he went to a council of Rabbis, taught them all about Tai-Chi so they could make an Halachaic decision about it, and they approved. Another Rabbi went a while ago to an Anthroposophic community that sells organic food and decided they are not kosher because they are idol worshippers. So you see it varies. Mind you the Rabbi who declared the Anthroposophists idol worshipers is no bigot. He had for years been having dialogues with palestinian sufis and chamas sheiks!
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